


rush hour

by alileely



Series: the ordinary and boring tales of mark and haechan [4]
Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: Domestic, Domestic Fluff, Early Mornings, Fluff, M/M, it's mark's fault, just mark and haechan getting ready for work, oh and they're running late
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-17
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:41:11
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28130043
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alileely/pseuds/alileely
Summary: Donghyuck loved quiet mornings, where the world never mattered. But today was not one of those quiet mornings, and he and Mark were both running late.
Relationships: Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Mark Lee
Series: the ordinary and boring tales of mark and haechan [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2050149
Comments: 10
Kudos: 119





	rush hour

The sunlight seeping in through the blinds was what woke Donghyuck up.

There was the few seconds of being both asleep and not asleep, hovering on the line that separated consciousness and dreams. Then, slowly, Donghyuck groggily blinked his eyes open, squinting at the sudden brightness that assaulted his vision. The sun seemed to shine brightly, harshly, unlike the usual soft streaks that he was so used to waking up to.

Beside him, Mark stirred. Mindlessly, Donghyuck cuddled up next to him, wrapping his arm around his waist and resting his head on his chest. Mark responded by hugging him with one arm and pressing a kiss on top of his head. "Morning, Hyuck."

"Mm, morning," Donghyuck hummed, breathing in just as Mark's chest fell with an exhale. Barely awake, he turned his head towards Mark. Too tired to land a kiss properly on his lips, Donghyuck's kisses fell lazily upon his jaw and neck. Mark makes a sleepy sound and pulls Donghyuck closer, their ankles hooking together, and he caught himself thinking he wanted nothing more than to fall back asleep in his arms. He loved quiet mornings like this, where the world never mattered — well, it hardly did whenever he was with Mark, really. Another sigh, followed by the gentle touch of fingers on his face from his forehead trailing down to his jaw. Mark's hand rested there lazily as his eyes fluttered.

"What time is it?" he drawled, lightly stroking Donghyuck's cheek with a finger. There was a slight pause as Donghyuck debated reaching for his phone to check the time or simply saying that he didn't know. In the end, he sighed as his arm reached out, fumbling for his phone.

"It's..." He cracked open an eye and checked his screen. "Shit, it's already 10 AM."

"Wait, what?!"

The speed at which they jumped out of bed would have put light to shame. Donghyuck rushed to fix his things, cursing softly under his breath.

"I told you to set the alarm, didn't I?" he scolded Mark, who was audibly ransacking the closet for something to wear. When he was met with no response, Donghyuck rambled on, "I reminded you last night before we went to bed. You said you'd do it later after you finish your book. Next time, can you please do what I tell you to do when I tell you to do it because we—"

Donghyuck stopped. Mark had been quiet for longer than a few seconds, and that was enough for alarm bells to ring in his head. Usually, he would be laughing softly or muttering some sort of response to his ramblings. He whirled around to check what in the world Mark was doing, only to find him standing still by the closet, one hand still inside as if he had just been rummaging through it only seconds ago, and a soft smile on his face as he stared right at him.

"What?" Donghyuck asked, not really knowing what else to say.

"Nothing, it's just..." Mark shrugged, still that silly smile on his face. Something about it was making Donghyuck's heart pound in his chest, and he could feel the slow chills going down his arms. "You look really cute in my shirt."

Donghyuck felt his knees go weak — and my, did he want to let it go weak. But Mark had no business rendering him weak when they were already two hours late on a Monday, so he rolled his eyes and pretended to scoff. Mark's smile told him that he knew he was faking, though, and Donghyuck said, "That's not going to work today, Mark."

There was a soft chuckle as Mark's said, apologetic, "I'm sorry, I forgot."

Rushing inside the bathroom, Donghyuck washed his face before brushing his teeth, struggling to get his watch around his wrist. He muttered a string of colorful curses under his breath as the stupid thing simply refused to be worn. A pair of hands suddenly shot out, grabbing the watch from his fumbling hands and putting it on for him. There was the sharp sound of the watch snapping into place followed by Mark's laugh tinged with amusement.

"Should've just asked me for help," he laughed, grabbing his toothbrush.

"No way," Donghyuck said stubbornly through mouth filled with bubbling foam from the toothpaste. "I'm still angry at you."

"I said I'm sorry," Mark laughed, slightly pouting.

"Is that going to make me not late for work?" Donghyuck asked. Mark blinked at him in the mirror, a frozen lopsided smile on his face. His eyes shook, trying to search for an excuse, but he ended up with nothing and Donghyuck said, "I thought so."

Donghyuck spit out the toothpaste and hurriedly rinsed his toothbrush under running water. Mark exclaimed loudly when he put the toothbrush back in the holder, grabbing it and washing it again as he scolded him, calling out as Donghyuck rushed out of the bathroom faster than he could finish speaking, "At least wash your toothbrush properly."

"Breakfast isn't going to cook itself, Mark," Donghyuck yelled, skipping down the steps and skidding into the kitchen. There was barely enough time to take a shower, much less cook a decent breakfast. So Donghyuck simply shoved some bread into the toaster.

"Hyuck, where's my necktie?"

"Uh... what necktie?" Donghyuck asked, rushing around the kitchen. Where was that damn peanut butter? He let out a stressed sigh as Mark replied, "The blue one."

"Mark Lee, you have four blue neckties. _Which one_?"

"The one with stripes."

 _Ah, there it is_. Donghyuck grabbed the peanut butter and a spoon before going back up to their room, where he found Mark rummaging through every drawer. He sighed as he went straight to their bedside table, snatching the blue striped necktie on it. "You mean this one?"

Mark grinned as he took it from Donghyuck, placing a kiss on his cheek. "Thanks."

Donghyuck slipped into a pair of pants, throwing on a gray turtleneck. When he finally turned around, Mark was only half-dressed, shirt still unbuttoned and struggling to buckle his belt. He let out a playful sigh and said, "Come on, slowpoke, we don't have all day."

"We're late anyway," Mark shrugged, earning him a kick in the butt.

"Just move your ass already," Donghyuck said, ducking into the bathroom to check himself in the mirror. "I'm going to tell your mother if you get fired."

Mark scoffed. "I would be more worried if you told _your_ mother."

"My mother never gets angry at _you_ ," Donghyuck said, sounding only slightly offended. "Sure, she has a really loud voice, but that doesn't mean she's angry."

"My mom never gets angry, too," Mark said, sliding beside him as he put some gel on his hair. He pushed Donghyuck slightly with his hips, trying to hog more space. Donghyuck pushed him right back, initiating a pushing war that left both of them giggling.

"I'll tell your dad, then," Donghyuck tried again.

There was a pause before Mark said, "Alright, I'll be down in five minutes."

"Three. Hurry it up," Donghyuck said, stepping out of the bathroom and dodging Mark's arms that suddenly reached out to trap him inside. Mark smiled impishly as he finished styling his hair and shortly following Donghyuck downstairs. There, he found him standing inside the kitchen, staring at the toaster, aghast.

"What's up?" Mark asked, inching closer towards him and glancing at the toaster. Donghyuck muttered something inaudible and Mark stepped closer, leaning his ear in. "What was that?"

"I forgot... to plug it in."

Mark paused before his lips slowly stretched into a smile. Then, he was unable to hold in the bubble of laughter that came from his chest. Donghyuck stood there, frozen in disbelief, and Mark bent down to plug the toaster in and pressed the lever down. With a small laugh, he snaked his arms around his waist from behind, nuzzling his face into his neck.

"I told you, slow down. We can spare a few minutes," he whispered. Donghyuck sighed in defeat. No use arguing with Mark now. He was right, anyway. They were already running late and a few more minutes won't make that much of a difference.

"I'll get some juice," Mark said, and Donghyuck almost pulled him back when he felt his arms pulling away. Mark tiptoed slightly as he reached up in one of the cupboards, trying to find the pitcher. Donghyuck slipped past under him to the refrigerator, tugging it open as he said, "Let's just have some milk. There's already an opened carton here."

"Okay," Mark said, moving towards the kitchen rack to grab a pair of glasses. The toaster dinged and Donghyuck placed the milk on the kitchen counter, rushing past Mark to get their breakfast, stopping only briefly to press a kiss on Mark's cheek.

"You know," Donghyuck heard Mark speak behind him and by the tone of his voice, he was quite obviously up to no good, "we could just call in sick."

"No, Mark, we are already _dressed_."

"We could always get _undressed_ ," Mark shrugged. It took a while for his phrasing to sink in, then his cheeks flushed pink as he giggled. "You know what I mean."

"I did not waste an entire morning getting ready just so we could stay in," Donghyuck said, handing him a toast smothered with peanut butter. Mark slid a glass of milk over to him on the kitchen counter and they proceeded to munch on their breakfast as they continued to speak in hushed whispers.

"Mr. Kim is going to be so pissed at me," Donghyuck said, lazily playing with Mark's fingers on the countertop. "I already came in late three times this month."

"Just tell him you weren't feeling good."

"Like he'd care," Donghyuck fumed, finishing up his toast and chugging down the milk. "That man is terrifying and married to his job, and those things do not go well together."

"Oh, can you remind me to get those reports before we leave?" Mark said as Donghyuck circled around the counter, hands wandering to the necktie dangling carelessly around Mark's neck and tying it into place. "Ms. Park asked me to hand them in yesterday. I completely forgot."

"I'll be surprised if neither of us loses our job today," Donghyuck joked, smirking playfully as he secured the tie around Mark's neck. "Whoever loses their job has to buy dinner."

"Deal."

* * *

Donghyuck loved quiet mornings, where the world never mattered. Time was irrelevant and he could just lay in bed with Mark as he sang softly into his ear. And Donghyuck would sing back in the same hushed tone as Mark would trace circles on his back, trailing kisses from his fingers, up his arms, to his neck, and then his face.

Mark would always take his sweet, precious time — kissing him on his cheek, then his nose, then his eye, then on the forehead, then his other eye, and the other cheek. Each time, his lips lingered long enough for it to feel like forever, long enough for Donghyuck to whisper "I love you" for each one. And each time, he would pull away long enough to stare at Donghyuck lovingly, long enough for Donghyuck to miss the touch of his lips on his skin.

And then finally, inevitably, Mark's lips would find his and Donghyuck — oh, God, he would just melt, and he often found himself sighing into Mark's kiss. It would always start out slow, shy, as if they hadn't kissed a thousand times before. Then, their lips would stretch into a smile, fingers carding lazily through each other's hair, hands brushing softly on their arms and chests.

But Donghyuck loved the hectic mornings, too — ones where they were rushing from room to room, trying to get their bearings as well as get into their clothes. Time was relevant, but Mark would pull him into a hug or catch him off-guard with a kiss almost as if they had all the time in the world.

In those small pockets of silence, when they were both just trying to get ready for work, their hushed whispers would fill those silences, so soft that it could send a butterfly's wings fluttering. Hidden in the pauses of the morning rush were the stolen glances and soft smiles, the brief hugs and fleeting kisses.

The world could wait.

**Author's Note:**

> [cc](https://curiouscat.me/alileely) | [twitter](https://twitter.com/alileely)
> 
> This might be one of my favorite pieces that I have written in a while, which is saying a lot since I don't really write a lot of fluff. I really appreciate you clicking on this and reading it through to the end!!! Kudos, comments, suggestions, and constructive criticisms are always welcome and highly appreciated.
> 
> Sending u hugs ♡


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